Starting an automobile in cold climates has always been a challenge. Cold weather stifles the operation of several key components of an automobile's starting system, including the battery, starter motor, and the engine itself. To minimize the effects of cold weather, automobile engine block heaters have long been used. Automobile engine block heaters typically make starting the car in cold weather easier and prevent damage to the engine due to poor lubrication from cold and poor flowing oil at the time of the cold start. Furthermore, automobile engine block heaters typically reduce the time it takes for the engine to reach its optimum operating temperature. While many existing automobile engine block heaters adequately address these concerns, several key shortcomings make many existing automobile engine block heaters counterproductive to the user's overall needs for a fast and reliable method of activating the automobile engine block heater once the driver has reached his or her destination.
Typical automobile engine block heaters require the driver to exit the car and manually connect the engine block heater to a power source. Oftentimes, drivers will forego connecting the engine block heater to the power source as they hastily seek the warmth and shelter of their homes. Other drivers might simply forget to connect the engine block heater to the power source. In either case, the automobile engine block heater is not activated and thus cannot provide the aforementioned benefits.
Moreover, the power cord from many existing engine block heaters typically dangles from the front of the car and thus becomes exposed to water, snow and other substances during normal operation of the vehicle. This can result in corrosion or damage to the power cord leads or damage to the cord itself. Hence, the driver may be confronted with a significant risk of electrical shock as he or she attempts to connect the engine block heater to a power source.
No apparatus currently exists that automatically activates an automobile engine block heater once the vehicle has reached its parking destination. Because of the manual activation required on existing engine block heaters and the possibility for injury to the driver, an automobile engine block heater system is needed wherein the engine block heater is automatically activated when the vehicle reaches its destination.